Belle Velo

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Last post was back in Feb, so yeah, I'd say there was a lack of blogspiration in my life. It's been an interesting five months here in Kansas. So interesting, that we are moving all the way back to Florida. I know, I know. What the....!? Right? Trust me. My head is spinning faster than yours, I promise. So how am I doing with all of this? I'm doing okay. My husband will have a great job, we've got a cute house lined up and we are moving back to Orlando so we'll have friends to reconnect with. We do have to drive 1,500 miles (with two kids) so there's that, as well as packing and unpacking our lives once again. Overall, I think I'm dealing with it pretty well except for the eye twitch I've had for over a week now. In all seriousness the details of this move have lined up rather nicely. Everything is kind of falling into place. Makes me feel like, even though it seems crazy, it's meant to be. Of course I'll miss my fam here in Kansas but, as the saying goes, "you gotta do what you gotta do". For me, that means supporting my husband, his career choices and doing what is best for our little family. We'll be able to come visit and who wouldn't love to have family in a warm, southern state during January and February? I love my family but this winter...yikes! It was rough. Will not miss that. So there you have it. Our moving news in a nutshell. :)

Back to the "blogspiration". I came across a few songs this week that made me want to write this post. I didn't think I was going to be a fan of the new Daft Punk album based on "Get Lucky" featuring Pharrell. It was too disco-y for my liking. I didn't think much about it after that, but then I heard this on XM...

and I was hooked. I've always enjoyed the Strokes and I love Julian Casablancas on this track. I also decided to download this song at the same time. My 3 year old said it was her favorite :)

This next band, Everything Everything, I've liked for some time. I blogged about them here. They haven't quite made it to the US so it was hard finding some of their music. I was surprised and excited to hear them on SiriusXMU the other day. I think they would be amazing live so I hope they schedule a US tour soon!

The last songs are just some randoms I've heard recently and liked. I love the way this one builds...

I have a love/hate relationship with dubstep. I think it just depends on my mood. I've had the following on some of my recent gym playlists.

Well, I guess that's it for today. Sorry it took me awhile to post again! With the upcoming move and then unpacking in our new place it will be awhile before I'm back to a regular schedule. I'll try to post as often as I can :)

Monday, January 28, 2013

We moved! That pretty much explains where I've been for the last couple of months. Moving and the holidays really put a kink in my blog posting.

Moving has changed our lives quite a bit, as it usually does, especially when you move out-of-state. Everything is different. Climate, people, time zone, job, etc. We are now located in, the less sunny, state of Kansas. We rolled into KS on New Year's day. Our cars were coated with road salt from the blizzard-y weather we had driven through and we stepped out into the 20 degree day wearing our Florida winter jackets...not cool, or should I say, NOT warm! The weather has been a huge adjustment for all of us. I have to say, I do miss that southern weather, but I missed my family more. All in all, I'm happy, and I can make do with the cold. It will be spring before I know it!

So how has my job changed? Well, I'm obviously not teaching indoor cycling at the Central Florida YMCAs (btw, I miss all of you!) anymore and my current city, Hays, KS, does not have a Y. I am currently interviewing with the local health center for a cycling position and I hope to be able to start teaching again ASAP. I really miss it, not to mention- what in the heck would I do with Belle Velo if I wasn't making playlists anymore!? I do have a possible solution, but more on that at a later time...work in progress :)

As far as my love for running goes, it's as strong as ever. Running in 0-20 degrees is, of course, a much different experience than the 50s, 60s and 70s I had in Florida. Although, the routine is still similar. I get up, get outdoors and eventually loosen up to find that sweet spot in my stride. One perk of this chilly weather is being able to add to my Oiselle winter collection! I had my eye on so many of the cute long sleeve tops and jackets, but I didn't have much use for them in the warmer temps. Luckily I found out we were moving right before Christmas so I took the opportunity to stock up on some new running threads. I miss regularly wearing my Rogas, (aka Best. Shorts. Ever.) though.

I'm still looking for races to add to my new Kansas running schedule. Here are a few I'm considering: Garmin Half Marathon, Hospital Hill Half Marathon and the Stride Half Marathon. I know, lots of Halfs, but after doing a full last October, I'm pretty confident in running 13.1. Not to mention, it's a heck of a lot less time/ energy consuming to train for. I am a full time mother and all ;)

Back to the music. No new playlist today, but I will leave y'all with some of the *tunes I've been into lately. Also, stay tuned. Belle Velo won't be going anywhere, but she may have a sister project soon...very soon. Much love to each and every one of you! *Soundcloud wasn't cooperating with me so I just ended up posting the videos from YouTube.

Cazzette- Beam Me Up

Morning Parade- Under the Stars

Calvin Harris- Sweet Nothing (feat. Florence Welch)

Capital Cities- Safe and Sound

Chvrches- Lies

Royal Teeth- Wild

The Neighbourhood- Sweater Weather

Cat Power- Cherokee

Lastly, y'all know how much I love Thom Yorke. Atoms for Peace is a collaboration started in 2009 by Thom and Red Hot Chili Peppers' bassist, Flea. Debut album to be released next month.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Hey, hey! I am in a particularly good mood this beautiful Friday afternoon.

My desktop computer that basically holds my entire life is finally back from "the shop" and we didn't lose any important family pictures or files...thank goodness!! Long story short, we received an email from Apple letting us know that we bought a computer with a messed up hard drive and, this is the icing on the cake, my husband hadn't backed up any of our files in the 3 years we have owned it. It could have been bad. Really bad. Thankfully all is well and now we have an external hard drive :)

I received an email Halloween night welcoming me to the Oiselle Running Team. This is an awesome company...the best fitting and flattering running clothes I've ever owned. I am beyond excited (and honored) to represent them around my community and at all of my upcoming races. As the Oiselle birds say, "Go fast. Take chances.".

As some of you know, I've been struggling a bit a lot, since the Chicago Marathon. (Basically, my IT band started causing some pretty intense pain around mile 8...) It has taken a few slow feeling weeks to get back to my normal schedule and mileage. The good news is I had an awesome, easy feeling, run this morning. I put in a good 6.1 miles at a 7:20/mile average with absolutely NO IT pain! This makes me sooo happy and I'm starting to feel like running the Jacksonville Marathon December 16th, while probably still crazy, is definitely doable and I may even be able to drop those pesky 51 seconds off of my time.

Alright, alright...this is the last thing on the list, I promise! While it's not brand new, it still hasn't been posted, so here is the newest playlist. Yay!!

Playlist #12

Here's the breakdown:
Lots of saddle time in this workout. The first set's focus was learning to maintain those faster RPMs (90-100) for longer periods of time. We didn't "flat road" it forever, of course. Set #2, while still in the saddle, we amped up the gear for a couple songs which forced us to slow the RPM a bit and climb. I threw you a bone (you jump lovers, you) on Set #3 we backed it down to a nice 70-80 RPM range and switched in and out of the saddle every 30 seconds. Last up- track cycling, anyone?? Set #4 was a series of full minute ON (anaerobic- this means breathless, heart busting out of your chest, y'all) and full minute OFF (easy pedaling for a FULL minute...I'm too good to you). That was 2 songs worth...I know, most of you thought you were done after the first...it was an awesome evil trick. ;)

Lastly, good luck and safe travels to all the Oiselle birds running the ING NYC Marathon this Sunday! I wish you all the best and hope your travels to the starting line are a breeze. Thanks for stopping by and Happy Friday!!!

Wednesday, September 19, 2012

The rain showers have driven us indoors this afternoon and it has given me a few minutes to sample some new music. Sooo, what did I find? A band by the name of Alt-J. Their music seems to be relatively new to the States and their album An Awesome Wave was just released yesterday. The song below is being offered for FREE on iTunes right now... head over and download it asap (sample the rest of the album while you're there, of course). Good stuff.

Friday, September 14, 2012

I'm finally posting my Rolling Hills playlist that was put together a couple of weeks ago. Let's just say August was a busy, busy month. My four year old started Pre-K, we celebrated my husband's birthday...the big 3-0 and we had a big Labor Day weekend with family in town. Now I am just trying to get back on schedule!

Speaking of schedules. Most of you know that I have also been training for the (October 7th, 2012) Chicago Marathon. I am happy to say that it is almost here and I am almost DONE! Throwing a marathon training plan in with my cycling schedule and life as a mom (chasing around a 2 year old and 4 year old) hasn't been easy. When it started I was super excited and couldn't wait to get into my first 20 mile run...I have since run 20 miles (or more-I ran 25 once) three times. Yeah. Waking up at 4am to get in a 20 miler before 8:30am got old pretty fast. Don't get me wrong I LOVE to get up and run, but having a strict plan to follow each day is tiring. I miss the days of getting out there and just running to run. You may be wondering why did she even signed up to run a marathon and my answer is simply because I've never done one. So here I am and I am going to do it. I may never want to do one again and I'm fine with that, but at least I'll know that I gave it a try...who knows, maybe after all is said and done I will love it and sign up for many more. At this point that seems unlikely, but you never know. I'll just throw this out there, if by some miracle I happen to BQ, (qualify for the 2014 Boston Marathon) all of my previous statements will be thrown out and I will probably be addicted. I will let you know how it goes. Alright, back to playlists and awesome bands!

Olympians- Isles of Wonder: Music for the Opening Ceremony of the London 2012 Games

Keep Forgetting- The Cinematics

Temporary- White Rabbits

Shadows- Lindsey Sterling

I Bought My Eyes- Ty Segall Band

Flutes- Hot Chip

(Druun)- DIIV

Ping Pong- Bassnectar

(Druun), Pt. II- DIIV

BC- Cold Showers

Let's Go- Matt & Kim

C'mon C'mon- The Von Bondies

Fineshrine- Purity Ring

Last Night I Heard Everything in Slow Motion- Oliver Tank

Hope you enjoy the list! Unfortunately, I couldn't find many of the songs on Soundcloud so you will have to click on the link above to sample the music on iTunes.

On another note, has anyone heard of Cheers Elephant? I came across them while listening to an indie radio station on my phone. I'm going to end up buying their whole album...I already know it. I'm loving their sound. Keep an ear out (open?) for them in my upcoming classes.

Thursday, August 16, 2012

About Me

Mother of two beautiful kids, married since 2007 to my best friend. I am blessed to have such a loving family and great friends. In my spare time I teach indoor cycling and I love to run and race...in fact, I am a runner for Oiselle Team. Oiselle offers the best in women's running apparel and has an extraordinary group of ladies operating in their Seattle, WA HQ. Not to mention the beautiful, strong and fast women from all over the U.S. that I am proud to call my teammates. Check them out! You'll be happy you did.